Well I went out and pulled off the dark brown/black ones that have dried out. Cracking open the shell was a lot like cracking open some peanuts. Anyways, the beans that came out were perfect. I still have the original batch of soybeans from the asian market. My grown ones look almost exactly the same. The only difference is that mine are just not quite as fat. Also I'm growing some mung beans. Same deal there, I pulled off a dry pod and cracked it open. The beans look the same as the bag of mung beans I grew them from. I'm still amazed I got any beans at all from these plants. I mean I truly treated them like crap. They were not at the edge of my balcony but close to my door. So they only got direct sunlight for about 5 hours a day. The stuff at the edge get 8 or 9 hours. I grew them in crappy $4 for 40 pound "organic" potting soil. No fertilizers added or anything. I really haven't been very diligent with watering them either. These bean plants never had any good looking leaves. They've all been full of brown spots and frayed edges. I've built one of those earthbox type self watering containers and have a tomato plant and basil plant in it. They've grown so quick and look so healthy. I'm going to build some more and I want to try a soybean plant in there to see how it does when it's treated nice.

An easy way to "cap" the curb is to use the excess material cut down from your countertops. Also a great way to deal with the interior walls of a shower niche. Have the countertop fabricator cut it to the right size and then your tile guy can install it along with the tile.

The higher the ceiling the bigger the baseboard. But then I think craftsman style houses have larger baseboards too, a little cute cottage could have baseboards with more detail. But will there be crown molding too? Too much molding at the top and bottom might shorten the wall. So basically, no, there aren’t any rules, depends on the house and what you like.

I went through the roof experience last spring & summer. It's a process. I started with neighbors and other contractors who have done work for me. I asked friends as well. Then I browsed through Angie's List. I researched on the web what sorts of questions to ask. I compiled my list of questions, then went to the state to see if any of the roofers I was considering had any L&I issues, safety infractions or lawsuits. Those with any weirdness, didn't get a call. I interviewed five. One of them stood me up on our scheduled day to meet. He did not get my money. Another arrived 30 minutes late - without a call - and spoke to me in a condescending manner. (That tone some men take when they're interacting with a woman who they assume know nothing about anything.) He didn't get my money either. Another ( a neighbor referral) arrived on time, was professional and had a great record. I would have had to sell a kidney to afford his pricing. I kept my kidney. Another was promising, but when I asked for references, I never got a response. So, it went like that. I finally found a company who ticked all my boxes - a referral from a friend whose parents had used the company. Only problem was his company had only been in business for five years. A bit of a red flag, but I felt good about him. He got my money. I now have new a roof and both kidneys - win win. Some questions to ask: How long is this going to take? Do you have your own power supply or will you need access to power from my house? How are you going to protect my landscaping, shrubs and garden? How are you going to rectify any destruction? Do you use subcontractors? Who's responsible for quality control and what is the process that person follows? How long have you been doing this? Who's going to clean up the mess? GAF certified just means they have the GAF certification from that shingle provider. I interviewed a GAF certified roofer, and he made a big deal about the certification (he was the condescending one). All the other roofers pretty much said that it's the installation that's important - not so much the brand. Good luck and get ready for some serious noise.